


broken ribs & broken hearts

by spider_woman



Category: Marvel (Comics), Slingers
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant, Daddy Issues, During Canon, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Johnny/Ritchie if you squint, Light Angst, as usual, full send ig, uh yeah idk how else to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:21:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24692185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spider_woman/pseuds/spider_woman
Summary: What I like to think happened between Slingers: Issue 9 and Issue 10. Aka between when Ritchie shows up after Johnny’s fight with Orphan Maker and his identity reveal to his dad, and before they regroup with Eddie and Cassie.
Relationships: Johnny Gallo & Ritchie Gilmore
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	broken ribs & broken hearts

_ “Ricochet… I need your help. _ ”

Johnny had spent the last couple days thinking Ritchie was dead. So his surprise when the man had crawled through his open window had made the tears threatening to spill out of his eyes completely vanish. Instead, he was completely in shock. He shouldn’t have been. After all, he’d assumed Cassie and Eddie were dead, and they’d both made comebacks. Really, he was the only one left to “die”.

“You’re- you’re alive!” Johnny exclaimed, his shock turning to excited relief, “Oh my God!”

He lunged forward and hugged Ritchie without thinking about it, but immediately let go when Ritchie let out a  _ whoomp  _ noise. The taller man rubbed his side with a wince.

“Ribs,” Ritchie muttered, “Might’ve broken them.”

“Jesus,” Johnny breathed, “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

Ritchie shrugged and winced again. He slowly reached up and took off his helmet. There was a gash above his eyebrow that seemed to have healed but was covered in dried blood. There was dirt and grime on his face too, and Johnny assumed it had gotten in through the cracks of his suit. Other than that, Ritchie just seemed… tired. Very, very tired.

“Do you want to shower? You can crash here for the night if you want.”

Ritchie shook his head. “We should regroup with the others. And I want my cape back. Any idea where it ended up?”

“Eddie has it, I think,” Johnny replied weakly, “Come on, man. You look exhausted.”

Ritchie’s eyes darkened. “I’m fine.”

“At least take a shower,” Johnny pressed.

Ritchie sighed, a long, drawn out noise that seemed to deflate his whole body. Then he nodded weakly, and Johnny gently took his hand and guided him down the hall to the bathroom. He could hear his dad cleaning up the mess he and Orphan Maker had made, but he chose to ignore it. He got Ritchie the softest towel he owned and went back to his room so he could have some privacy. He glanced at his duffel bag sitting on his bed, heart heavy. Ritchie wasn’t the only tired one in the house.

Fifteen minutes later, Ritchie walked back into Johnny’s room with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He was holding his suit in his hands, looking awkward and still very tired. But he was clean, although there were still unhealed scrapes and bruises all over his body. The gash on his forehead had reopened, and his face was streaked with blood from where he’d tried to wipe it away.

“Thanks for the shower.”

“No problem,” Johnny replied without emotion, “Let’s go back to the bathroom. I’ll clean up that cut.”

Ritchie set his suit aside and followed Johnny back to the bathroom. Johnny dug around in the cupboards for a few minutes until he found an old first aid kit. He cleaned the wound with hydrogen peroxide first, then put neosporin over it and bandaged it with a Fantastic Four band-aid. It was more decorative than helpful, but Johnny didn’t know what else to do. He was bad at first aid.

“What happened?” Ritchie asked gently, catching Johnny’s wrist when he finished smoothing down the band-aid, “You’re not yourself. You’re… moody.”

“You died,” Johnny pointed out.

“And now I’m back, aren’t I? What else is wrong? You looked like you were about to cry earlier. And your front window is basically obliterated.”

Johnny sighed, almost mimicking Ritchie’s earlier sigh. “It’s a long story.”

Ritchie didn’t push, but he didn’t let go of Johnny’s wrist either. He just stared Johnny down until he forced his eyes to look anywhere but at Ritchie.

“Come on, Rico,” Ritchie said quietly, surprising Johnny with the nickname, “I’ve been nothing but shitty to you. Let me  _ try _ to help.”

“It’s a long story,” Johnny repeated.

“We’ve got time.”

“I thought you wanted to regroup with the team?”

“It’s not even ten PM. We’ve got time.”

Johnny let it all out. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe because he’d kept it pent up for too long, maybe because he was too tired to think straight. Either way, he started with his mother’s death and finished with his dad’s constant disappointment in him, even when he was doing something good.  _ There’s stronger out there than you, Johnny. _ Those words stung. By the time he was finished, Ritchie looked less tired and more concerned.

“Is running away going to solve anything?” he asked, still holding Johnny’s wrist but moving his grip to rub circles on the back of Johnny’s hand with his thumb, “Being alone… It’s not something you want to be. Believe me.”

“I’ve got you, don’t I? And Eddie and Cassie and Kathy, whether I like it or not. I’m not alone.”

“Well yeah, but he’s your  _ dad. _ ”

“He’s a  _ dick _ ,” Johnny snapped, “Nothing I ever do is good enough for him. I work, and I go to college, and I’m even a superhero on the side, and he  _ still doesn’t care! _ I wish- I wish  _ he _ would have died instead of my mom!”

He started crying, not meaning to but unable to stop it. Ritchie froze, dropping Johnny’s arm, and Johnny cried harder. He hated his dad, he hated Nanny and Orphan Maker, he hated Black Marvel, and most of all he hated himself. He wouldn’t blame Ritchie if he just got up and left right then and there. But he didn’t. Instead, he stepped forward and pulled Johnny into a hug. He was warm, and he was solid, and his heartbeat was loud in Johnny’s ears. Slowly but surely, Johnny calmed down. He hiccuped as he let go and stepped away, eyes downcast. Ritchie wasn’t supposed to see him cry.

“When I was younger, my parents died in a house fire,” Ritchie spoke up softly, “I know what it’s like to lose the people you love. And I get that your dad is a shitty excuse for a father, but that doesn’t mean you should want him dead.”

Johnny hiccuped again. “I know. I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry about your parents.”

He looked up. Ritchie gave him a small smile. That was enough. They went back to Johnny’s room, where they spent half an hour cleaning and fixing up Ritchie’s suit. Afterwards, they both suited up and went to Eddie’s dorm. Johnny left his bag behind. He’d decided he wouldn’t need it. They got Ritchie’s cape back, and Johnny called Eddie and Cassie and told them to meet him at the billboard. Ritchie flew them there, and then they waited. Neither of them said it, but they both knew things had changed between them. They weren’t forced allies anymore. They were friends.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated :)  
> My tumblr is @spidester if you’re interested! It’s very Marvel themed, focusing on the comics.


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